Hinduism
Hinduism is one of the world's oldest and largest religions and is mostly spread on the Indian subcontinent. Hinduism is very diverse and has no central dominant text or specific criteria for whether or not you are a Hindu. Because of this, the religion can be considered both polytheistic and pantheistic. The Human Condition Hindus believe humans are caught in samsara: the atman is condemned to an endless cycle of reincarnation as a result of karma. Bad karma has a corrupting effect on the universe. ' Atman - the atman is the human soul, it is without gender and passes from body to body through the process of Samsara. Samsara - Repetitive process of reincarnation Hindus are confined to. Their atman travels from body to body and is placed in a different varna based on their karma. Each varna has a different dharma and how a Hindu adherest to it determines his or her karma and affects how they'll be in their next life. Once a Hindu has reached the top spot of their varna they'll experience moksha, liberation from samsara which will unite them with the Brahman. Where are we going? *'To a favorable or unfavorable reincarnation after death *'To moksha, liberation from samsara and the consequences of karma' Moksha - liberation from the cycle of samsara and unification with Brahman Karma - the law of action. Good karma is action taken without connection to material value and by taking such action one's action is elevated in samsara. Bad karma, vikarma, is action taken purely for one's own benefits. How do we get there? We achieve liberation by: *'either performing actions pertinent to the dharma of Hinduism or to the law or teachings of jati that is, the varnashramadharma' *'or follo'wing one of the yogic paths, for example Jnana, Bhakti or Karma '''(see yoga) Theme 1: Rituals Lifetime rituals/rites of passage *16 Samskaras **Birth ritual **Naming a child **Upanyana **Marriage **Retirement **Death **Cremation *4 Ashrams **Brachmachhyara - boyhood study of the Vedas **Grihastha - life as a married householder, having and raising children. **Vanaprastha - retirement **Sannyasa - renunciation *4 Varnas **Brahmins - priests, teachers and intellectuals **Kshatriyas - kings, governors, warriors and soldiers **Vaishyas - merchants, farmers, businessmen **Shudras - artisans and laborers Worship '''Puja '''worship takes place in both the home and at the mandir and refers to the worship of a '''murti, an idol or sacred image of a deity. Puja is the ritual worship of a god and a form of bhakti yoga. At the mandir Usually includes at least 16 devotional acts including: *Ritual cleaning, purity is a very important concept in Hinduism *Usually involves bathing and dressing the deity *Offering various auspicious items: **water **perfume **flowers *Food offering *Arti ceremony - greeting ceremony for the murti called "the ceremony of lights." Starts and ends with the blowing of a conch-shell. Several offerings made to murti moved in clockwise circles in front of the deity. Worshippers offer incense, a flower, water, a five-wick lamp and a lamp with camphor among other things. *Singing of bhajan '''and '''kirtan At the home Scaled down version of temple services *Daily or weekly, depending on the family *The family will have a shrine in the home containing an idol of the god of their choice. *Before meals the family will offer food to the shrine. Festivals Festivals are a form of bhakti yoga as they are a way for Hindus to show devotion. Festivals are important because: *They bring together the Hindu community, members of all varnas, gender and origin (such as Holi) *Depict significant myths that help a Hindu understand their deities character (Diwali is the return of Rama) *Festivals help Hindus achieve Darshan *Promot good karma *Ritual purification - washing away of bad karma Gender and ritual *In the home, women are the ones who perform puja worship such as offering prasad to the murti *Samskaras are aimed at both genders, however marriage is the only one that women traditionally take part in. *The dowry system and arranged marriages *'Suti - '''the voluntary burning of a widow as her husband goes through Antyeshti. This occurs as the widow sees no other way to continue life, as she will have few posisble means of maintaining herself and is often shunned by her children and other family. *There are female deitys such as the Mother Goddess Devi and there are very few other world religions that represent gods as female *Gods such as the Trimurti have female consorts, such as Parvati for Shiva. *In the modern day, there are women who have assumed the roles of brahmins and gurus despite that not being traditional Society and ritual Theme 2: Sacred Texts Key Texts '''Shruti texts' - texts which are heard. Orally remembered sacred texts. The Vedas - the most central text of Hinduism and the original text from which other Hindu doctrines and beliefs have branched out from. The defining belief of being a Hindu is believing in the divine origin and authority of the Vedas. *There are four Vedas (referred to collectively as the Veda) **Rig Veda (most important Veda) - Hymn Veda - the most ancient Indian text and the most important of the four Vedas. Composed of over a thousand hymns that tell of the creation of the universe and many are devoted to different ancient gods described such as the god of fire Agni. ***Vishnu and Shiva are very rarely mentioned ***'Heneotheistic '- worshipping a certain god while recognizing the existence of others. That is why Hindus are able to accept Christ and Allah as holy as well. ***Young brahmins had to study the Rig Veda in detail for years before they coul officiate rituals such as sacrifices. **Sama Veda - Song Veda - suggested tunes for reciting hymns **Yajur Veda - Formula Veda - gave basic information concerning ceremonies to be followed **Atharva Veda - Spell Veda - collection of spells and incantations *The Veda was transmitted orally for thousands of years and had to be remembered by rishis (sages) *The Vedas guide Brahmins on ritual Smriti texts - texts which are remembered. Texts that have always been known in their written form. The Mahabharata '- the Great Story of the Bharatas *World's longest epic (four times longer than the Christian Bible) *The feud and eventual war between two sides of King Bharata's family '''The Bhagavad Gita '- the Song of the Lord *Small part of the the Mahabharata *The story of Arjuna and his struggle to decide whether or not go to war with his cousins and reclaim his throne *The Lord Krishna, disguised as a charioteer, is the one who convinces him *Introduces such concepts as dharma, atman, karma and bhakti yoga *Central text of the Hare Krishna devotional movement 'The Ramayana '- the Song of Rama believed to be written by Valkimi around the third century BCE. *Story of Prince Rama who is exiled from his kingdom *Rama's wife Sita is kidpnapped by the demon Ravana *Rama is restored to his kingdom and his wife with the help of the monke-god Composition Collation and development Interpretation Language Theme 3: Doctrines and Beliefs *There is a lot of diversity in doctrines and beliefs. This is accepted because Hinduism is based on '''orthopraxy rather than orthodoxy. *Defining Hindu belief is very difficult in comparison with other religions: **There is no foundational figure or event **There is no formal leadership or figure ***Brahmins and Sadhus can only offer spiritual and ritual guidance **There is no central text, there are a variety of texts of different kinds for Hindus to turn to and choose from Statements of belief *'Sanatana dharma '- eternal dharma, the dharma of each individual regardless of their jati, varna or gender. **Honesty **Goodwill **Foregiveness **Patience **Belief in God *Different interpretations of God **'Shankara '- non-duality. school of thought that believes in non-duality. Atman and Brahman are one. ***At moksha, atman joins Brahman like a drop in water. ***Someone who follows the Shankara school of thought would not feel the need to practice bhakti yoga as much as someone who believes in Madra does, but instead practices jnana yoga and seeks spiritual knowledge and the revelation that atman and Brahman are one. **'Ramanjuna '- qualified non-duality. Brahman is one, but atman joins Braman through one of the God, such as Vishnu or Shiva ***At moksha, atman joins Brahman like a drop into river into sea. **'Madra' - duality. Atman and Brahman merge, but remain distinct. ***At moksha, atman is connected to Brahman like leaves on a tree ***The Hare Krishna movement practices Bhakti Yoga such as puja worship *k Category:Theme 1 Category:Hinduism